Shulamit Shamir, wife of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, died in her Tel Aviv home Friday at the age of 88. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the Shamir's son, Yair, after learning of Mrs. Shamir's death and sent his condolences to the family. "Shulamit was Yitzhak's right hand in the Lehi," read Netanyahu's statement. "We join all of Israel's citizens in mourning her death." Shulamit Shamir was born in Bulgaria in 1923. She was arrested upon arrival at age 17 in then British-ruled Palestine due to restrictions on Jewish immigration, and was sent to a detention camp. There she met her future husband Yitzhak Shamir, who had been interred for for his activities as one of the commanders of the underground. They were married in 1944. Mrs. Shamir joined the Lohamei Herut Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel," the underground group that broke away from Menachem Begin's Irgun, known by its acronym Lehi, where she acted as a courier under the name: Shulamit. Yitzhak Shamir served as prime minister from 1983-84 and again between 1986-1992. Shulamit is survived by her husband, the former prime minister, who is now hospitalized in a nursing home in central Israel, two children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her funeral is set for Sunday in Jerusalem.
